Refrigerator-car construction



July 8 1924. 1,500,171

L. 5. WEST REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed July 19, 1922 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig! July 8 1924.

REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION L. 8. WEST Filed July 19, 1922 2Sheets-Ghee}. 2

Patented July 8, 1924.

LEWIS S. WEST, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

REFRIGERATOR-OAR CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed July 19,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LnwIs S. IVEsT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Refrigerator-CarConstructions, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerator car construction.

The 'eneral practice in refrigerator car construction is to employspring-pressed heat insulation or packing between the two pivoted doorson each side of the car and the lintel and jamb, together with a widethreshold metal wear plate. The object of the insulation is of course toprevent the transmission of heat from the exterior to the interior ofthe car to thereby eliminate freezing of perishable contents during thewinter time and undue heating of the contents in warmer weather. Due tothe necessity of trucking the contents of the car across the thresholdit is not feasible to employ the spring-pressed packing at the thresholdand to minimize wear, it has been customary to employ the wide metalthreshold plate. Furthermore, it has been found that there is lessdanger of the moisture collecting and freezing at the threshold wheremetal plates are employed, which is another reason for eliminating theuse of the springpressed packing found on the other edges of the door.

Operators of refrigerator cars have been subject to many and expensivedamage claims arising from injury to the contents of the car adjacentthe threshold, which is due to the fact that the heat is readilytransmitted from the exterior to the interior of the car by means of theusual metal threshold plate, which has heretofore been extended for awidth in excess of the thickness of the usual insulated refrigeratordoor.

One object of my invention is to provide, in a refrigerator oarconstruction, practical means of a simple and inexpensive nature whichwill eliminate or at least reduce very appreciably the possibility oftransmitting heat from the exterior to the interior of the car acrossthe threshold joint to thereby minimize the damage claims above referredto. At the same time, it is an object of my 1922. Serial No. 576,055.

invention to preserve, so far as possible, the wear-resisting advantagesof the usual threshold plate.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sideelevational view of a portion of a refrigerator car showing thedoors inclosed position and in which are embodied my improvements. Figure 2 is ahorizontal sectional view corresponding to the section line 22 ofFigure 1. And Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view corresponding to thesection line 33 of Figure 1, the operating and locking means beingomitted,

In said drawings forming a part of this specification, the side of thecar is shown as provided with a rectangular door opening of the usualsize, said door opening being defined by a lintel 10, jambs 11-11 and athreshold, hereinafter more specifically described. The door opening isadapted to be closed by two pivoted doors 12' and 13, hinged asindicated at 14-14: to swing about vertical axes coinciding with theplanes of the opposed faces of the respective jambs. As customary inrefrigerator car construction, the lintel 10 is inwardly and downwardlybeveled as indicated at: 10 in Figure 3 The lintel 10 and each jamb 11are provided with longitudinally extending recesses 114: in each ofwhich is mounted a preferably wooden backing strip 15 normallyyieldingly pressed outward by a series of coil springs 16, each springseated in a suitable socket bored into the lintel or jamb as the casemay be. Extended over the faces of the lintel and door jambs 11 arelayers of felt and canvas packing as indicated at 17 in Figures 2 and 3,it being understood that said packing is nailed or otherwise secured tothe respective fixed structure on each side of the corresponding recess11&. With this arrangement, it is evident that when the doors are forcedto closed position, a tight heat-insulating joint will be formed betweenthe edges of the doors and the lintel and door j ambs. As customary inrefrigerator car construction, thewalls of the car are suitablyheat-insulated as also are the doors, the latter being of appreciablethickness as clearly shown in Figure 3.

The floor of the car is indicated at 18 and the threshold is outwardlyand downwardly beveled, the same being composed in part by one floorboard 18 and a threshold wood plank 19. The bottom edges of the doors 12and 18 are correspondingly beveled so as to provide a tight fit with thethreshold when the doors are in closed position. In carrying out myinvention, I provide a longitudinally extended metal threshold wearplate 20 which is countersunk flush within the threshold as clearlyshown in Figure 3, said plate 20 being held in place by wood screws21*21. It will be noted from an inspection of Figure 3 that the wearplate 20 is appreciably narrower than the thickness of the doors and islocated at a point intermediate the inner and outer faces of the doorsso that there is wood on opposite sides of the threshold plate 20,thereby preventing any appreciable transmission of heat across thethreshold joint when the doorsare closed. At the same time, it will benoted that the plate 20 is so located as to effectively minimize wear ofthe wood parts on opposite sides thereof.

Extensive actual use of my improvements as herein disclosed, has shownthat the ar rangement is effective for the purposes herein set forth andhas, in thecase of one refrigerator car operating company, decreaseddamage claims very materially, arising from the causes mentioned.

As customary, the door 12 is first moved to closed position and lockedby a detent 2 1- shown in Figure 1, the door 13 being forced home lastand moved to fully closed position by means of an operating shaft 25having a handle 26 of well known construction.

Iclaim:

1. In a refrigerator car having a door opening defined by lintel, jambsand wooden threshold, the combination with a door adapted to close saidopening; of heat-insulating packing located, between said door and theadjacent portion of the car defining the door opening; and a thresholdmetallic wear plate inserted in said wooden threshold, said plate beingof lesser width than the thickness of said door, whereby, at least oneedge of said plate which extends parallel. with the door when the latteris in closed position, is disposed intermediate the inner and outerplanes of the door to thereby prevent transference of heat from one sideof the door to the other side.

2. In a refrigerator car having a door opening defined by lintel, ambsand wooden threshold, the combination with a pair of oppositely swingingpivotal doors adapted to close said opening; of springpressedheat-insulating packing in each of the joints between the doors and thelintel and jambs; and a metallic threshold wear plate countersunk withinsaid wooden threshold, said wear plate being of lesser width than thethickness of the doors and located at a point intermediate the inner andouter planes of the doors when the latter are in closed position.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 5th day of July, 1922.

L. S. WEST. lVitnesses:

B. J. VANDERBILT, ANN BAKER.

